Hands down, Cycle during the era with Phil Schilling, Cook Nielson, Jess Thomas,
Michael Shuter, Byron Black, Kevin Cameron, and Gordon Jennings was the best
motorcycle magazine in the history of the English-speaking world.

Everything since has sucked horribly. Even Peter Egan's schtick in Cycle World gets old.
Egan and Cameron are the only reason to read the magazine so I hope they are paid
well.

I met Nielson and Schilling at Daytona the year they kicked ass with Old Blue, and they
were both real gentlemen, in the old-school sense.

The motorcycling rags these days are written by a bunch of semi-literate Philistines who
apparently think acting like a punk helps gain street cred ( hint : it doesn't ).

Wow, do I miss Nielson, Schilling, and Jennings. They could write and they could ride
and they didn't write stuff which didn't have substance. If there is a motorcycle mag
hall of fame they all deserve a place of honor in it. I am sure those who remember
the glory days of Cycle understand exactly what I am talking about.

There is room for a good motorcycle mag now. The existence of the web makes dealing with
some money man ( publisher, e.g. Hachette who have RUINED everything they touched )
not nearly as necessary as it once was, so now the main barrier to entry is
talent ( or lack thereof ).

By the way I saw a comment by Jess Thomas on Bring A Trailer last year, so he is still around.
Last I heard Cook was hiding out in the northeastern US. I don't know about Schilling or
the rest of the folks, but I still remember the great work they did like it was yesterday.

.

Try MCN the USA version as I think you might enjoy it by reading your comments. Well written articles that are articulate and a knowledgeable staff that is not beholden to advertisers. If I could have only one magazine this would be the one although it is four times as expensive.

__________________
2007 Triumph Tiger 1050

"If you Can't Fix it with a Hammer, it must be an Electrical Problem......"